luminaire

How to choose the right lighting for every room

This article is also available in French: Comment choisir l'éclairage le plus adapté ?

04/10/2026 · 9 min read · By the Designix team

Allow 100 lumens per m² for a bedroom, 150 for a living room, 300 over a worktop. Then set the tone: 2,700 K to 3,000 K for rest, 4,000 K for working. The cap, the ingress protection rating and the warranty come afterwards, once the room has been measured.

What is the difference between 3000 K and 4000 K?

3,000 K gives a warm light in orangey yellows; 4,000 K gives a neutral light close to an overcast sky. One helps you relax, the other wakes you up. Neither is brighter: kelvins describe a hue, not an amount of light.

Which light for which room: the decision table

	Room	Colour temperature	Layers to plan	Preferred mounting
Living room	3000 K	General, ambient, accent	Pendant, ceiling light, floor lamp	IP20
Bedroom	2700 to 3000 K	Ambient, reading	Wall light, table lamp	IP20
Kitchen	4000 K	General, worktop	Surface-mounted, under-cabinet, pendant	IP20 outside wet zones
Dining room	3000 K	General, accent on the table	Pendant centred over the table	IP20
Bathroom	3000 to 4000 K	General, mirror	Ceiling light, wall light	IP44 to IP65 in wet zones
Hallway and corridor	3000 K	General, guidance	Ceiling light, wall light	IP20
Outdoors	2700 to 3000 K	Guidance, facade accent	Wall light, spotlight	IP65

For a living space that is being fully redone, this choice is made before buying. A living room and living space renovation starts with this assessment: what time, what use, what tone.

Cool white or warm white: which gives the most light?

In lumens, not kelvins. A 4,000 K bulb and a 2,700 K bulb can show the same luminous flux. At equal flux, the first simply appears brighter, because the eye reacts more strongly to it.

2,700 K: very warm white, bedroom and reading corner
3,000 K: warm white, living room, dining room, hallway
4,000 K: neutral white, kitchen, office, bathroom
5,000 K and above: cool white, workshop and technical outdoor areas

The room-by-room detail is covered in our article on white or yellow light.

Type of natural light: which comes closest?

4,000 K during the day, 2,700 K in the evening. Daylight itself varies a great deal: warm at sunrise and sunset, noticeably cooler at midday. No bulb follows it on its own unless both hue and intensity can be varied.

In a bedroom, this setting matters more than elsewhere. A 3,000 K wall light placed at bedside height lights the page without dazzling, which a ceiling light cannot do. Rethinking a bedroom's lighting often starts there.

How do I choose the right bulbs for my lighting?

By the cap first, because the light fitting dictates it. Then by luminous flux in lumens, suited to the room's surface area. Wattage only comes last, and only to estimate actual power consumption.

What bulb wattage for the living room?

A 9 to 12 W LED replaces the old 60 W bulb. For a 20 m² living room, plan two or three light points rather than a single very powerful source.

Flux: 1,500 to 2,000 lumens for a 20 m² living room
Cap: E27 for a pendant, GU10 for an adjustable spotlight
Tone: 3,000 K, neither white nor yellow
Dimming: useful in a living room, unnecessary in a hallway

Cap or flux: where to start?

With the cap, without question. An E14 will not fit an E27 socket, whatever its wattage. Flux is chosen next, once the compatible format has been identified.

Cap	Common use	To check
E27	Pendant, floor lamp, ceiling light	Diffuser diameter
E14	Wall light, small bedside lamp	Bulb length
GU10	Recessed or track spotlight	Beam angle
Integrated LED	Flat ceiling light, strip light	Not replaceable

Across a sample of 250 references from our catalogue as of 29 September 2026, the stated cap is E27 in 30% of cases, LED 19%, E14 15% and GU10 11%. The choice is therefore wide, but the sockets are not interchangeable.

So it is better to choose your bulb type and cap before ordering.

How many lumens per m² depending on the room?

Allow 100 lumens per m² for a bedroom, 150 for a living room, 200 for a kitchen and 300 over a worktop. These benchmarks apply to a ceiling of standard height, around 2.50 m. They are read room by room, never as a single value for the whole house.

The light fittings to look at first, room by room

See the full selection: Lighting, Home Lighting, Online Lighting Store

100 lm/m²: bedroom, hallway
150 lm/m²: living room, dining room
200 lm/m²: kitchen, bathroom
300 lm/m²: office, worktop, workshop

How many lumens per m² in a dining room?

150 to 200 lm/m², with a pendant centred over the table rather than general lighting. A 15 m² room therefore needs around 2,500 lumens, split between the pendant and two additional light points.

Our catalogue lists 26,171 light fitting references as of 29 September 2026: enough to treat each room separately. A dining room pendant placed 75 cm above the tabletop lights the guests without dazzling them. In a kitchen, the same principle applies to an island, with a kitchen pendant hung lower, around 70 cm.

Is 2000 lumens a lot?

For a 12 m² bedroom, yes: the need is around 1,200 lumens. For a 20 m² living room, it is almost the minimum. The same value therefore changes sides depending on the surface area, which is why it pays to think in lumens per m².

To refine this, see how many lumens for a bedroom: the calculation is broken down by surface area and use.

How do I calculate lighting without getting the method wrong?

Multiply the surface area in m² by the room's lumen requirement. A 25 m² living room at 150 lm/m² needs 3,750 lumens, spread across several light points. A single 3,750-lumen ceiling light would give a flat room with dark corners.

Which room do you want to light first?

The step-by-step method is set out in our guide to calculating the amount of light a room needs.

Ingress protection, the criterion people forget

The IP rating indicates resistance to water and dust. Across a sample of 250 references from our catalogue as of 29 September 2026, 94% show IP20 and 4% show IP65: waterproof options exist, but you have to look for them.

IP20: dry room, living room, bedroom, office
IP44: bathroom, sheltered room
IP65: exposed outdoors, poolside

How do I light a room without a ceiling light?

By layering three types of light: general, task and ambient. A floor lamp aimed at the wall provides general light without dazzling. Two wall lights on either side of the bed provide task lighting. A small table lamp completes the ambience.

The full method is detailed in our guide to lighting a living room with three layers of light.

If you are redoing an entire room and cannot work out how many light points you need, describe the room to our team via the contact page: you will come away with a lighting plan before you buy.

The reviews left by buyers on our Google listing give an idea of the support before and after ordering.

How do I light a damp room or an outdoor space?

With a suitable ingress protection rating: IP44 minimum in a bathroom and in sheltered areas, IP65 outdoors and near water. The rest does not change. Same lumens, same colour temperature, same layers of light. Only waterproofing is really added.

Outdoor wall light: what changes compared with indoors

Waterproofing, material and exposure. An outdoor wall light works in the rain, in temperature swings and sometimes in salt-laden air.

Aluminium: withstands humidity and temperature variations
Glass: does not yellow in the sun
Treated metal: to be monitored near the coast

An IP65 outdoor wall light is fitted around 1.80 m, facing downwards, to light the way without sending light into a neighbour's home.

The choice of waterproof models is covered in our article on lighting a terrace or garden.

What warranty should I look for on an outdoor light fitting?

Two years is the most commonly stated duration. Across a sample of 250 references from our catalogue as of 29 September 2026, 94% state 2 years and 6% state 5 years. Outdoors, where the fitting is put under more strain, the second option makes sense.

The checklist before confirming a light fitting

Note the socket cap and the maximum wattage indicated
Choose the colour temperature according to the room, not according to the mood of the moment
Check the luminous flux in lumens and the number of light sources already in the room
Check the ingress protection rating if the room is damp or the fitting is going outdoors
Check compatibility with a dimmer if a dimmer switch is installed
Measure the suspension height above the table or floor
Note the warranty stated on the product page

The questions we are asked most often

How do I choose the right bulbs for my lighting?

Start with the light fitting, not the bulb: note the socket cap and the maximum wattage indicated on it. Then choose the colour temperature according to the room, then the luminous flux in lumens according to the surface area to be covered.

What is the difference between 3000 K and 4000 K?

At equal flux, both give as much light: only the hue changes. 3000 K leans towards amber and relaxes, 4000 K is more neutral and brings out materials better. In practice, 3000 K in restful rooms, 4000 K where you work.

Which gives the most light, cool white or warm white?

Neither. Cool white does not produce more light, it simply appears brighter at identical flux. Two bulbs of the same flux give the same light, whether their hue is warm or cool.

How many watts is 5000 lumens?

The ratio depends on the technology: an LED needs far fewer watts than a halogen for the same flux. The product page shows both values; at equal flux, compare lumens, never watts.

Is 2000 lumens a lot?

It all depends on distance and surface area. 2000 lumens concentrated on a worktop light strongly, the same amount spread through a large room lights gently. The reliable benchmark remains the result in the room, not the value on the box.